Second Chance
by Juneau
Summary: Tifa gets a chance to change what happens to the planet ..chapter 4 up.
1. Default Chapter

As she watched Meteor come down on the planet, Tifa cried. Cried for the things she hadn't done in her short life, cried for the things she would now never be able to do.. cried for everything. As it came closer and closer, she shut her eyes and whispered goodbye, until it hit the planet and caused mass destruction and death.  
  
"Who is she?" "I don't know.. we found her ko'ed just outside Midgar and brought her back here.. I don't know what to do with her, I can't just dump her, not in this state.." contemplated the unidentifiable voice.  
  
Tifa attempted to sit up, but quickly realised she couldn't feel any of her body. She couldn't see, she couldn't feel, all she had to rely on was her hearing, which at this moment in time wasn't particularly good. She had no idea where she was or what on earth was going on and she wanted to know. The last thing she could remember was seeing meteor hit the Highwind, and then it had all gone blank. Then she had woke up here, in this unfamiliar bed. How could she still be alive? Meteor had destroyed everything, including Midgar.. how could she have been found outside Midgar?  
  
"Hey! I think shes awake gramps!" Tifa felt someone sit down on the edge of the bed and tried to say something, anything, but she found she couldn't talk. "Shes moving, she is awake! Oh, shes gonna be alright!" "She needs to rest more before she'll be alright Luna dear," "Yeah.. now just relax hun, I'll help you go to sleep. When you wake up you should feel better." Tifa managed the smallest of nods and then felt the familiar feeling of a sleep spell surround her, gently lulling her to sleep.  
  
'Tifa...Tifa.. wake up! We don't have long..' Tifa blinked, and opened her eyes slowly, not realising that she could actually see now. What she did realise, was that Aeris was standing in front of her. 'Huh..Aeris.. this isn't real, I must be dreaming...' 'Quick as always Tifa.. yes, you are dreaming.. but this is real. You need to listen, and I don't have long. Will you listen?' Tifa nodded quickly. In all the time she had known Aeris(even though it hadn't been very long) she had never known the girl to lie to her. 'Ok. I'm sure you remember meteor destroying the planet.. I was there, in spirit.. I watched, and I'm sure you're wondering whats going on. You've been given a second chance Tifa, a chance to change what happens. Meteor destroyed the planet, and you've been given the chance to stop it happening again. Don't ask me how, or why, all I know is thats why you're here.' Tifa blinked, her face a picture of astonishment. 'What about Barret, and Red, and Cid, and... Cloud?' 'You will meet them again, though they won't remember you. Everything is different now.. you will also meet me again, although I won't know you either.' 'But.. this doesn't make sense.. why me? How am I supposed to stop Sephiroth?' 'I don't know.. but you must try.. I have to go Tifa.. just believe in yourself.. I know you can do it' 'No! Wait.. I need to know more..' Tifa mumbled as Aeris faded away and suddenly everything went dark again.  
  
When Tifa woke up again, she felt a lot better. She could see, and her body didn't even feel like it had taken damage. She didn't know how it had happened, but she bet Aeris had had something to do with it. She got up, slowly testing that her legs would hold her weight, and headed out of the door. Looking around, she realised she was in Kalm inn.  
  
"Oh my god! You're ok!" Yelled the same voice as Tifa had heard earlier. She was a young girl, and looked about 16. The sudden noise made Tifa stumble, and the girl ran over to to help her. "Eh.. am I in Kalm?" Tifa questioned quietly. "Yes, this is the inn. I'm Luna by the way," "I'm Tifa" "Ok, hi Tifa," Luna smiled. " We've got lunch downstairs, if you want to have some.. " "Thanks, erm.. do you have a bathroom I could use please?" Tifa asked meekly. "Sure, its just through there. Come downstairs when you've finished." Luna smiled and walked off down the stairs cheerfully.  
  
Tifa went into the bath room and gave herself a look. she wasn't sure how long she'd been in Kalm, but she didn't look half bad. Her clothes were in half decent shape, and her hair didn't look too bad. She pulled off her top and ran her hand over the scar Sephiroth had given her in Nibelheim, five years before. That obviously hadn't changed. Tifa wondered where the gang was.. had they all met each other yet? Maybe Jessie, Wedge and Biggs were still.. alive. She decided to head on over to Midgar when she felt fully recovered, see how the Seventh Heaven was doing, and Marlene.. the sector seven slums. Had they been destroyed yet? She hoped not...but if they had been, wouldn't that mean Marlene was in Kalm? Unless everything had happened differently.. She washed and cleaned herself up quickly and ran a hairbrush on the side through her hair. To her surprise she heard her stomach rumble, and she hoped that the food Luna ate was half decent. Pulling back on her top, she splashed some water over her face, and headed downstairs.  
  
"and so then he said.. Hey Tifa! Come on through here," Tifa looked around before going through to the back room. The inn still looked the same as the last time she'd been to it, even though that had been a long time ago.. before Aeris had died. She sat down with Luna and quietly ate some lunch whilst Luna sat there chatting to another girl who was sitting at the table. The other girl looked older than Luna, maybe even older than Tifa, and kept giving Tifa weird looks. "Oh sorry, I feel so rude! Tifa, this is Serena, my older sister! Serena, this is Tifa, you remember the girl who we found out by Midgar?" Serena nodded silently and resumed eating, as Tifa continued eating quietly, trying to be polite. After filling herself up on sandwiches, she got up and excused herself. "Thanks for that Luna.. I'm just going to have a walk around Kalm for a while, if you don't mind?" "Nah, of course not. Just don't go getting yourself hurt again" "Heh, I won't, and thanks for helping me recover," "No problem hun... I'll see you later then yeah?" Tifa nodded quickly, even though she had no intention of coming back. She walked out of the inn and looked around at her surroundings. Kalm was still the same as before. She headed over to the bar to see if she could find out some info about what had been happening lately.  
  
She was greeted by a very full bar, and a hell of a lot of babbling. The tv was on in the corner, and Tifas heart sunk as she saw what was being shown. "Hey babe, cheer up, it might never happen!" Some drunken fool was walking around and showing off, hitting on every girl in the place. Tifa managed to stifle the urge to knock the guy out, and instead asked people about the news. "Ohh, hey, some bunch of terrorist idiots blew up some slums, no big deal to us here in Kalm.. as long as they stay in Midgar.. should be killed.. thats what scum like that deserve.." After finding out what she needed to know, Tifa left the bar. This meant the group would be in Midgar, trying to rescue Aeris, and would soon run into Red. Or they would if this world was still the same. There were lots of things she was confused about.. if she had never existed, then everything would have been different. Unless there was someone else who had been her, but even then it would be different. Things were to confusing to think about, but the one thing she did know was that they had the same plan, and after they left Midgar they would probably head to Kalm. She didn't want to be here when they turned up... all her memories would flood back, all her feelings for Cloud.. and Aeris, she'd see Aeris again.. Not wanting to drag up old memories when she saw her old friends, Tifa decided to head to the Chocobo Farm. As long as she was ahead of the others, she'd be able to stop Sephiroth. 


	2. Chapter 2

Tifa sat down on the grass and tried to regain her breath. She'd left Kalm at 3pm, and it felt like she'd been walking forever. While she'd been walking she'd been thinking over what Aeris had told her.. she understood the whole second chance thing, but why her? And why had they been given a second chance? Were there alternate worlds where Yuffie and Barrett and everyone else had been given second chances? Or was it just her? 'Oof' she thought ' too many questions, not enough answers' She'd been walking quite fast, trying to avoid any monsters, and she'd been lucky so far and not run into any. She wondered why she was so uneasy about running into monsters.. she did have her handy metal knuckle ready to punch in anything that tried to attack her... maybe it was the whole being alone thing that scared her... she just wanted to get somewhere near other people soon.. the one thing Tifa hated was being alone. Randomly guessing, she'd say she was about halfway to the chocobo farm. She hoped she'd have enough money to rent out a chocobo when she got there, seeing as she'd have to cross the swamp near the farm, and she was not in the right state to fight the Midgar Zolom.  
  
Aftter resting she jumped up and started walking again. As she walked she pondered over what she was going to do. Was she just going to do what she had done last time, or was she going to go a different route to the group? Maybe she could even stop Sephiroth from killing Aeris...Tifa shuddered suddenly, getting an eery sensation of deja vu, and also another weird feeling.. a feeling that someone was watching her.  
  
"Come on! I know you're out there, come on out, coward!" She yelled angrily. She wasn't in a mood to be played around with. Pulling out the one fire materia she'd managed to buy in Kalm, she prepared herself to attack. There didn't seem to be anywhere around her for someone to hide, and she wondered if maybe she was being overly paranoid.. that was, until something attacked her from behind and she crumbled to the floor from the shock. She was surprised that she'd been so shocked, but then realised that she still wasn't fully recovered from.. from what? Meteor? She shook all confusion from her head and pushed herself back up and prepared to cast fire on whatever had attacked her...  
  
"Hey, pick on someone your own size.. eeeeeeeaaaahhhh!!!" yelled the child who had attacked her as she set him on fire. She was even more shocked than before that someone this small could have caused her to fall.  
  
"Stupid child, what do you think you're doing?" She muttered angrily, walking away quickly, not wanting to fight.  
  
"I'm not a stupid child! I'll show you!" screamed the boy in anger, running insanely towards her. She anticipated his attack, and spun around just as he reached her and flipped him over her shoulder. He landed on the floor hard, and she heard the crack of his body as he landed. She winced, she hadn't meant to really hurt him, just get him to leave her alone. To her surprise, he jumped straight back up and ran off towards the direction of the chocobo farm.  
  
'Oh crap' she thought, 'I bet I've just gone and beaten on the son of the owner of the farm' She hurriedly began to run after the boy towards the farm again.  
  
Unknown to Tifa, a dark figure had been watching her the whole time. A dark figure who knew all about why Tifa was here, why she had been given the second chance to change the planets fate. And he wasn't about to let her ruin his plans. 


	3. Chapter 3

Tifa awoke from a night of restless sleep. She'd had nightmares of meteor.. she could still see it as it approached the Highwind.. could feel the fear in everyones hearts.. she really missed them.. Barret, her friend and mentor for life, Nanaki, with his wise words, even Yuffie, though she had been an annoying little brat at times. And especially Cloud.. she still loved him, deep in her heart.. but she knew that she would now never get the chance to act upon her love. But at least she'd get to see them again.. if she worked on her plan quick enough..  
  
She'd made it to the chocobo farm pretty quickly the day before, running after the boy, who she'd found out was called Chole. His father, Bill, had been quite happy he'd been brought down a peg or two and let Tifa stay the night for free. He'd also let her rent out their best chocobo, and for a cheap rate too. Still, the happiness from that hadn't stopped her from having the nightmare.  
  
"Tifa? Are you up?" called a voice. Tifa struggled to remember if it was Bill, Billy or Chole. It didn't help that the names were so similar either! She pulled herself up from the bed and peeked around the door. "Oh, you're up! I made you some mako coffee, if you want it?" Billy asked. "Sure, thanks. I'll be up and out of your way in a little while" she smiled, taking the coffee back into the little room that she had stayed in.  
  
'Hmm... mako coffee... never tried that before.. wonder what its like' she thought, taking a sip. She'd planned out her day the night before, planning to make it to Fort Condor before nightfall, if not any further. She wanted to make a quick stop off in the Mythril Mines to see if Elena, Rude and Tseng were there.. not that she planned on causing any trouble, no, of course not. As far as she figured, they wouldn't know who she was, so she had no reason to worry, and she might as well help Avalanche on their way. Tifa finished getting ready in record time, and walked out into the kitchen area.  
  
"Hey Bill, Billy, thanks for letting me stay the night, I really appreciate it." She smiled. "No problem Tifa, any time. And by the way, any time you've finished with the chocobo, rub its left ear three times, and it will come straight back to us" Bill informed her. "Three times, left ear, I think I can remember that" Tifa chuckled. " Anyway, I really have to be going, I'll see you some time, yeah?" "Of course" They hugged, and Tifa left, to truely start on her so called adventure. It was 11am, and she hoped she'd make it to Fort Condor by 6 at the latest. It had been a long tiem since she'd rode across this land, so she wasn't sure how long it took. The chocobo was quite mellow and rode at a comfortable pace for Tifa, fast enough so that they were making good time, but slow enough so that Tifa could look at the scenery around her. "I wish you could talk, you know that," she sighed. "Waaark!" it screeched back. She sighed again, and rested her head on its head in an attempt to get more comfortable. It was comfortable enoguh for her to doze off, and doze she did, until suddenly the chocobo stopped and flipped her off. "What the hell! Ewwww!" She groaned. She'd been flipped into the swamp, and now was all dirty and covered in muddy wweds and gunk. Giving the chocobo an evil look, she turned to see where the Midgar Zolom was, and prepared to cross the swamp. 


	4. Chapter 4

"Wow.. talk about anticlimax," Tifa complained as she got off the chocobo. She'd crossed the swamp without even so much as a glance of the Zolom.A part of her had wanted it to turn up, so she could test her skills, but no, it hadn't been there. Debating on whether to send the chocobo home yet, she turned to look at the entrance to the Mythril Mines. Last time she'd been here, Sephiroth had been just in front, and the Turks too. Chuckling evilly, Tifa stroke the chocobos ear three times and watched as it went dashing off manicly across the swamp. Slowly entering the mines she looked around for any items. If her memory served corrcectly, there was long-range materia hidden somewhere in here. It would help her a lot in her quest, so she began to search for it, becoming so engorssed that she couldn't hear the noises of another person following her. "Hmm.. she mumbled to herself. " I think its around here somewhere......AAH!" She'd turned around to see the man in black standing right behind her. "Holy shit!! Who the hell are you and what are you doing?" She yelled angrily. The man didn't say anything, just turned away and walked off. "HEY! I'm talking to you, what do you think gives you the right to come and sneak up on me like that?" She charged towards him and attempted to pull him around, not really succeeding. She did however manage to tear his cloak, and he did not seem impressed. "Tifa.. just be quiet." The mans deep voice hypnotised her for a moment, pushing her into a dreamlike state. She shook the feeling off within seconds though, and the man laughed evilly. "Well... if that doesn't work, we'll have to try something a little stronger, eh?" He winked at her, throwing her off guard for what was to come next. Pulling off his cloak, the man grabbed a materia from one of his many pockets. Expecting to get hit very hard, very soon, Tifa ran. She didn't have any armour, and no protective materia either. "Shit," she panicked, "I'm in for it now." "You can run.. but you can't hide.." the deep voice said again, hypnotising Tifa for the second time. Before she could shake off the feeling, she was hit by an incredibly powerful sleep spell. " Sleep my dear, sleep." She tried to fight it for as long as possible, but falling asleep was inevitable, and before she knew it, she was slumped on the ground. The man grabbed his cloak from where he'd dropped it, putting it back on. There was a rip down the side where Tifa had grabbed it "She'll be good fun to play with, if she doesn't mess up my plans." He laughed to himself. Walking over to her body, he picked her up with ease and carried her to the main hall of the caves. He knew that The Turks would be there any minute, and that it was their rule to hold any people who could ruin their plans in custody for however long they deemed necessary, and he needed Tifa out of his way. Making sure there were no stray monsters lurking around the caves, he disappeared into the darkness.  
  
Tifa drifted in and out of sleep for the next few hours. As the man had anticipated, Shinra had taken her into custody, and she was currently tied to a wall in the caves. Elena was on watch when Tifa woke up properly. "Eeh.. what.. where am I?" Tifa slurred. The spell had hit her hard. "Not to worry, just a routine check up by Shinra. You'll be able to go home soon," Elena said politely. Tifa looked at Elena, and as her eyes began to focus again she realised who it was and laughed. Elena, being polite? That was new, but then again, if it was the same as before, she had only just joined the Turks, so probably wouldn't want to do anything wrong. "Erm.. excuse me?" Elena looked up. " Could you loosen the chains a bit please.. just so I can sit down?" Tifa asked in her best I'm-a-defenceless- little-girl voice. She planned to make a run for it as soon as she could, and when she caught up with that guy, god, he was in for it. Hell hath no fury like Tifa wanting revenge, and revenge was an understatement in this case. Who did he think he was, attacking a near defencless girl and leaving her to be captured by Shinra? Sure, she'd been expecting to wake up onjured, or not even wake up at all, but casting sleep on her and running off had been incredibly cowardly, and there was nothing Tifa hated more than cowards. "Sure! I would take them off, but its against the rules, ya know? Stupid bigshots running around think they know it all.. pfft, men!" Elena rolled her eyes and giggled, Tifa giggling with her. Underneath the hard Elena shell appeared to be someone who Tifa could have been friends with, if the cicumstances had been different. Too bad she was gonna have to kick her ass any minute. Waiting for the right moment, Tifa weighed up her chances of getting out of the caves without being caught by other Shinra personnel. If she silenced Elena she'd be alright, but she didn't have any Seal materia, and Elena probably didn't either, so she'd have to do it the hard way. As Elena loosened the chains, Tifa brought them smashing down over Elenas had. "Christ!" Elena yelped, but jumped back up and quickly cast cure on herself to ease the massive headache she could feel coming on. She looked at Tifa suspiciously, as if anyone who dared to take her on must be a member of a spy unit or some secret group out to take Shinra down. "Close," Tifa thought, "but no cigar." Attempting to break the chains holding her wrists together she darted out of the corner she was standing in, and charged at Elena. She was quicker than Tifa remembered, and moved out of the way, causing Tifa to stumble. It didn't stop her from trying however, and between charging at Elena and dodging Elenas ice attacks she managed to land one very powerful kick to Elenas head. With a dazed expression, Elena tumbled the the ground, and Tifa used her chance to unlock the chains with the key on Elenas waist. With the chains unlocked Tifa now had the advantage, being a trained fighter, and soon Elena was lying unconscious on the ground. "Elena, none, Tifa, one" she grinned as she rummaged through Elenas pockets for any items that might help. She grabbed an ice materia, bolt materia, the long range materia shed been searching for before and also the fire materia Elena must have taken from Tifa when they found her. She also took a tent and some potions, and left Elena chained to the wall where she had been chained before. "Goodbye Elena, sure we'll meet again, though you might not have your job anymore," Tifa said, and walked off. No-one suspected that she could be anything but a member of Shinra, as someone escaping from the Turks was unheard of. She got out of the caves easily, and decided to head to Fort Condor next, where she could hopefully rest up. She began a slow jog towards Fort Condor, planning her revenge on the dark figure on the way. 


End file.
